Warne picks Brian Lara as skipper of his greatest West Indies XI

Former Australian spinner Shane Warne on Thursday named Brian Lara as the skipper of his greatest West Indies XI.

The 50-year-old Warne named his greatest West Indies XI during an Instagram Live session and he only selected the players against whom he has played during his career.

Warne opted to go in for Chris Gayle and Desmond Haynes as the openers of the side, while he picked Richie Richardson as the number three batsman

Warne's greatest West Indies XI: Desmond Haynes, Chris Gayle, Richie Richardson, Brian Lara (c), Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs, Ian Bishop, Patrick Patterson, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose.

"Lara and Sachin were the two best batsmen of my time, his 277 run-knock against us was one of the best innings I saw him play," Warne said on Instagram.

Lara enjoyed a stellar run against Australia in Test cricket as he managed to score 2,856 runs from 31 matches at an average of 51 with his highest score being 277 in 1993.

The left-handed batsman also played a memorable unbeaten knock of 153 runs in 1999 to take West Indies to an improbable one-wicket win against Australia.

Warne had an exceptional Test record against the West Indies as he scalped 65 wickets from 19 matches at an average of 29.95.

His best spelling against West Indies came during the third Test in 1992 as he finished with figures of 7-52 in the second innings of the match.